People become homeless for lots of reasons, and often it's the accumulation of multiple, constant pressures that act in unison to cause homelessness. Our guests have faced challenges like the loss of a job, domestic violence, mental illness, release from the care system with few resources, breakdown of a relationship and the death of a partner or parent -- to name just a few. Anyone faced with a set-back can stumble; a series of mishaps can cause a life to unravel.  

Watch our short animated film that uses real life stories to illustrate the many ways people can become homeless.

On top of this, the stock of affordable housing is dwindling and the property market in London remains prohibitively high for many. With inadequate benefits, a lack of social housing and a growing cost-of-living crisis, more and more people are finding themselves unable to make ends meet. 

Homelessness in London

In 2022-23, 10,053 people were recorded as having slept rough in London. This data, from the Greater London Authority's Chain database, tracks rough sleepers in London seen by outreach workers. Within the overall total, 6,391 had never slept rough in London prior to this year.

This is a 21% increase compared to the total of 8,329 people seen the year before, and 54% higher than ten years ago, when 6,508 were seen sleeping rough in the capital.

While the statistics do reflect general trends, the numbers are widely acknowledged to under-represent the true scale of rough sleeping (read "Thousands not counted in rough sleeping report").  

The rough sleeping count represents the tip of the iceberg; those staying in shelters and hostels are not included. Nor are the people sleeping on night buses, staying out of sight, or sofa-surfing. Combined with the cost-of-living crisis and bills and rent going through the roof, more and more people are approaching us because they have to choose between paying rent and eating, and they’re afraid of losing their homes.  

As with previous years, the most common cause of homelessness reported by those sleeping rough for the first time was being evicted or asked to leave by people they were staying with. People are closer to the edge of homelessness than ever before. 

Homelessness in one of the richest cities in the world is shameful. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has the largest statistical gap between the richest and poorest residents in all of London while demand for our services continues to grow.  

We know homelessness can be devastating to physical and mental health - the average life expectation of a homeless man in the UK is 45, around 30 years below the figure for the population as a whole. For women, it is 43, 40 years below the figure for women in the general UK population. 

There is hope

While the data is stark and the human experiences are often heartbreaking, we do have a formula that offers hope. 

Read the stories of some of our guests.

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